


Zim's in a Simulation!

by Hazellum



Series: Zimulation Shenanigans [1]
Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Enemies to Enemies but Dib pities Zim, HAahahahahahahaha, Irken Dib (Invader Zim), Oh I love this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:53:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26311444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazellum/pseuds/Hazellum
Summary: Zim wakes up in an "Alternate reality" where Dib is not only an Irken as well, but also helping him Invade Earth! Even stranger, GIR can actually cook!Meanwhile, Dib watches the simulation like "What the fuck, man. I dont want to pity my enemy! But hes so lonely and pathetic and sad!"
Relationships: Dib & GIR (Invader Zim), Dib & Zim (Invader Zim), GIR & Zim (Invader Zim)
Series: Zimulation Shenanigans [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1911784
Comments: 12
Kudos: 66





	Zim's in a Simulation!

As his alarm blared, Zim groaned and pulled his pillow over his head. Surely it wasn’t awakening time? Still half asleep, Zim didn’t notice that the room around him was loading in like a slow video game, glitching occasionally. Rolling over, he rubbed his eyes and yawned. As he did, the world around him slammed into solidity. Stretching, he sat up, only to bonk his head on something hard above him. Opening his eyes, Zim realized that his resting chamber had been converted into a bunk system while he slept. 

Looking around, Zim frowned. That was odd. Rapping his knuckles against the metal over his head, he grimaced. This was probably another one of GIr’s silly ideas. As much as he always told the robot that it didn’t need a resting chamber, it could just power off, Gir had kept whining about it occasionally for weeks. Honestly, the couch was where Gir spent most of his time anyways, he should sleep there!

As Zim tried to think of why Gir wouldn’t have already jumped off the top bunk to go watch cartoons- if Zim’s current hypothesis was correct- another Irken he didn’t recognize poked their head over the edge of the top bunk, smiling. Their eyes were a glittering golden galaxy, the kind that would have left them available for the Propaganda Model career path back on Irk. Their antennae were long, scything back behind their head. They almost looked… familiar.

What on Irk were they doing here?

“Who are you?” Zim asked, sitting as upright as he could on the bottom bunk.

“You know me, you dolt. I’m your hatchmate? We were assigned to this planet together to invade it?” the strangely familiar Irken said, rolling his eyes.

“Tell me your name!” Zim retorted, loudly. He would remember having a co-Invader! And besides, he was Zim! He needed nobody! 

“Dib, you dolt. Is this seriously not ringing any bells? Do you need a Pak Checkup or something?” ‘Dib’ said, hopping down from the bottom bunk. Stretching, the “Dib” yawned. 

“Come on, I think Gir made waffles.” 

As soon as this “Dib” had left the room, Zim stood up off of the bottom bunk, and began to pace. It seemed as if he had been brought to an alternate reality where the Dib-Human was in fact Irken, and his co-Invader on top of that. This irritated Zim to no end, he would have to put his plans on hold, but he remembered the last time he had fallen into an alternate reality, and knew that playing along for now was probably the best solution.

And, if Zim was the first Irken Invader in all of history to conquer a planet  _ across realities, _ it would only serve to further cement his position as Irk’s greatest Invader! Plus, the fact that he would have company besides his robots while he was here… 

Well it was a plus. Gir, Computer, and Minimoose were all great, but he lacked common interests with them. Gir would jabber endlessly about whatever cartoon he was watching, Minimoose seemed intent on being ceaseless with its puns, his “Moose over” always especially annoying, and Computer… Well, they just always seemed tired, and always had their hands full trying to keep Gir from blowing up the base. 

Shrugging, Zim decided to act as if everything was normal while gathering as much information as he could on this new reality. Hopefully this one wasn’t too… hostile. You always heard stories in Invader Training, but Zim didn’t know how troublesome to someone as great as HIM they would be!. A spring in his step, and a sinking feeling in his spooch, he left the resting chamber as well. Surprisingly, this alternate base seemed to be an exact replica of  _ his _ base, simply scaled up for two Invaders. Disconcerting, but because of this, Zim easily found his way to the dining room. He found the Dib-Irken sitting at the table, happily eating a plate full of waffles topped with whipped fluff, a drizzling of chocolate sauce, and sprinkles. Across from him was an untouched plate, a fork sat beside it. 

Sitting down, Zim warily took a bite. Gir’s waffles were usually… questionable, at best. When he bit down on the waffle, however, the flavor exploded in his mouth, a sweet symphony played across his taste buds. Smiling, he proceeded to shovel the food into his mouth. He could get used to this!

Zim was eating so quickly that by the time he was done, “Dib” was still only half done. 

“Gir! Come bring Zim some more waffles! This batch must be especially good, he’s just demolishing them!” Dib called, laughing. A moment later, the cyan-eyed robot ran into the room, holding a new plate of waffles over his head. After dropping it on the table in front of Zim, Gir grabbed the empty plate… and promptly ate it. Some things were a universal constant.

“Gir! Don’t eat the plates!” he and Dib scolded simultaneously. In response, Gir grabbed a fork, ate that too, and then ran off laughing. 

“I guess some things are a universal constant,” Zim said quietly to himself, chuckling, before eating his second serving of waffles.

Once he and the Dib-Irken were done eating, they sat at the table for a while, chatting. From what Zim could gather, this universe was identical to his, except for Dib. Even the Dib was very similar to Zim’s Dib, almost an identical copy when it came to personality. Just like Zim’s Dib, he loved talking about the human’s cryptids, “Dib” laughing at how they couldn’t agree whether something existed.

Zim realized something else. When not on opposite sides of a battlefield, he and Dib worked well together. Throughout the day, as they worked together on a plot that was almost done anyway, they didn’t even seem to be two sides of the same coin. They were like a pair of mirrors, reflecting each other perfectly and infinitely.

Dib’s loyalty in Zim’s own world was with humanity, since he was human there. Here, however, Zim could see that it was like his own. Strong, unwavering, dedicated. All perfect qualities for any Irken soldier.

Through innocuous questions Zim learned that in this world, he and Dib really were hatchmates. It was so rare that Zim had figured it was just an exaggeration, but apparently not. A twin wasn’t something Zim had ever thought he’d want.

Sure, it was annoying at times, having someone around who he couldn’t just tell to shut up. Especially at first, Zim was very uncomfortable around this Dib. As such, he was very short-tempered. As the day went on, however, Zim found himself strangely put at ease. At one point, around the middle of the day, Zim became enraged at a malfunctioning piece of machinery, but Dib-Irken had simply placed a hand on Zim’s shoulder and had him take a step back, get a new look at it.

Zim tried not to think about the fact that this Dib was perfectly matched with  _ his _ Dib in terms of personality. As far as he knew, his Dib was perfectly happy with his lot in life, and wouldn’t turn against humanity for anything. At home, there would be no breakfast chats, or silently working in comfortable tandem. By Irk, he wouldn’t even be able to switch off his universal translator and just relax.

That evening, as he and Irken-Dib got ready for rest, Zim was filled with an overwhelming sense of melancholy. He’d been brought to this world in his sleep, as far as he could tell. What if he was yanked away tonight? Zim knew he should be happy about the thought of going back, back to his assigned planet in his universe, but… well, today was nice.

As Zim drifted into sleep, he didn’t notice his resting chambers shifting around him. How everything seemed to go low-poly, low-quality textures,like it was a game going into power-saving mode.

Fast asleep, he didn’t notice the electronic voice announcing “Simulation Day One Success”

* * *

Standing in Zim’s base looking at a glowing monitor, Dib wrinkled his brow. He was surprised that Zim hadn’t realized he was in a simulation. 

Dib was also slightly unnerved by his sim-self It seemed… exactly like him, which should have been a good thing in terms of the simulation. It would mean Zim was less likely to realize what was going on. However, the way it worked with Zim, the way they got along so well…

It sent a chill down Dib’s back.

“Maybe tomorrow I can drop into the simulation myself, just make sure everything’s going well. After all- I can’t be too careful,” Dib said to himself, standing up “Besides, it would be better than sitting in that chair all day. The backrest sucks!”

That was his only reason for wanting to go into the simulation. Totally. 100%. 

  
  


_ And it looked nice, being able to talk to someone like that. _


End file.
